Arizona: Gun enthusiasts push public school training: "Gun-rights advocates say they have the answer to Jonathan's problem. They want public schools to teach students how to use shotguns and rifles. With the help of Arizona Game and Fish officials, firearms enthusiasts have been quietly shepherding a bill through the Legislature that would encourage schools to offer a semesterlong elective, combining the use of laser replicas on campus and field trips to shooting ranges. Landis Aden, a lobbyist for the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association, said the class would teach children safe ways to deal with the kinds of weapons he says are found in up to half of Arizona households."


California: Robber shot to death by gas station owner: "The owner of a Beacon gas station on Charter Way exchanged gunfire with a robber early Monday, killing him in what police say appears to be a case of justifiable homicide. Investigators believe a second robber, whom the businessman also may have shot, remains at large, said Officer Sean Fenner, spokesman for the Stockton Police Department. ... Police said the incident began when Rubio drove up in an older gold Saab, entered the small convenience store and looked around. He tried to rob the business owner at gunpoint when other customers left. The two men fired at each other, Fenner said. Rubio died on the sidewalk in front of G.K. Tires, a few steps away from the gas station."


BATFE changes its stripes? "JPFO has just received a rare bit of good news about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In at least one area of operations, the BATFE is making a dramatic turnaround. The agency is functioning with a new spirit of cooperation toward gun-makers. It began last month. The new attitude was inspired by the actions of heroic firearms manufacturer ... Len Savage, ... the owner of Historic Arms, which makes semi-automatic versions of famous military rifles. ... The BATFE's first response ... was predictable and typical. Within two days, they declared that a firearm Len had sent for their approval ... was an 'illegal machine gun' ... [and] confiscated the gun. But ... [i]nstead of bowing down, Len kept on fighting. He fought not only for his own rights, but he kept making noise about other BATFE injustices. The BATFE must have realized it had an unusual, and intransigent, opponent."